Trucking companies struggle to compete for workers despite good pay and benefits

Zachary Black, a driver at Franklin Logistics and Development, Chambersburg, inspects his truck befoer hitting the road. There is a nationawide trucker shortage and thst could affect the time it takes goods to reach shelves.

With unemployment down and more jobs available, one of Franklin County's biggest professional sectors is struggling to compete for prospective employees.

Employers in the transportation industry have lately found it hard to fill vacant positions. When combined with warehousing, the profession makes up 12 percent of the area's workforce, or about 9,247 workers out of about 77,066. Just ahead are manufacturing at 15 percent, education and health care at 17 percent, and retail and hospitality at 24 percent.

It's a significant component of our economy as we speak right now, and it's only going to expand over the next decade.

Mike Ross, president, Franklin County Area Development Corp.

In fact, the need for truck drivers is one of the county's biggest right now.

There were at least 385 trucking jobs available as of early July, which dominates every other local occupation, according to Mike Ross, president of the Franklin County Area Development Corp. Retail sales were behind it with 218 open positions.

In addition, plans are in the works for the West Chester-based trucking company, A. Duie Pyle, to build a 200,000-square-foot warehouse on Molly Pitcher Highway across from World Kitchen in Greencastle. The move would create 150-200 jobs, including some in transportation.

"It's a significant component of our economy as we speak right now, and it's only going to expand over the next decade," Ross said.

Zachary Black, a driver at Franklin Logistics and Development, Chambersburg, sits in the cab of his truck before hitting the road. There is a nationwide trucker shortage and that could affect the time it takes goods to reach shelves.

Trying to find workers

For the past six months to a year, Nate McCourt has noticed it's been difficult for his company to hire drivers.

McCourt is the logistics director for Franklin Logistics and Development in Chambersburg, which offers a variety of trucking services throughout the region. He said there were more drivers looking for work when he joined the company about four years ago, but now he sees less applicants. He added the organization has been fortunate enough not to have experienced a lot of driver turnover, which can be an issue for other carriers.

Fewer drivers to transport freights can mean problems for clients and consumers.

Because there may not always be a truck available like there was a few years ago, shipments could experience delays, according to McCourt. He said rates have also gone up significantly in the last year, which translates into higher costs for customers wanting to move freights.

One of the reasons McCourt believes there is a shortage of drivers is due to a new mandate that started this year, which requires all trucks to use an electronic log. This means carriers may not be able to deliver as many loads as they could before.

McCourt isn't the only one who's seen declining interest in the profession.

Millennials are a tough group to get to do anything where it's manual or physical. So, you're fighting that battle, already.

Vance Miller, director of transportation, Lancaster County Career and Technology Center

The program started in the area about four years ago with a partnership between the Lancaster and Franklin County schools. Now run out of Lancaster, students have the option of spending 200 hours of training to get a class A license to drive a tractor-trailer, or spend 160 hours to get a class B license to drive a single-unit truck or bus. Instruction is also available at community colleges in Harrisburg and Hagerstown, Md.

There are only a few requirements to be admitted into the program at the career and technology center. Students must possess a state driver's license, be age 18 or older, read and write English, pass a Department of Transportation physical and drug screen and not have more than three moving violations within the past three years.

Keith Yohn, assistant administrative director in Lancaster who previously served as the administrative director at Franklin County's school, said bringing the program to the area was a "no-brainer."

In addition to a plethora of warehouses, Yohn noted the amount of major highways around the area (Interstate 81, Interstate 70 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike) and the metropolitan cities just a few hours away (Boston, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., New York and Pittsburgh).

Although the county may be a "truck-driving hotspot," according to Yohn, it hasn't been enough to draw students into the industry.

Enrollment is now the highest it's ever been, but Miller said the school is still struggling to fill up classes. He added participation in the program was slow when it first began a few years ago.

"It needs to grow a lot more for us to be able to support that initiative and continue moving it forward," Yohn said.

Zachary Black, a driver at Franklin Logistics and Development, Chambersburg, inspects his truck before hitting the road. There is a nationwide trucker shortage and that could affect the time it takes goods to reach shelves.

Markell DeLoatch, Public Opinion

For some students considering a career in trucking, the starting costs can be a big deterrent, according to Miller. The program's tuition is more than $5,000 for several weeks of training, which can be too much for those who have to pay out-of-pocket.

Being a truck driver can also mean 14-hour days and several weeks away from home at a time, which might be unappealing to younger generations.

"Millennials are a tough group to get to do anything where it's manual or physical," Miller said. "So, you're fighting that battle, already."

While Ross agreed time away from home can be a factor, he also pointed to drug testing being a critical component of the profession's hiring process. In a column published in April about the impact of the opioid epidemic on the local workforce, Ross wrote that employers struggling to fill job openings reported that as many as 25 percent of all applicants are unable to pass drug screenings.

He said while some industries may be relaxing their standards for testing depending on the drug, this isn't an option for the transportation industry, which is why someone might gravitate away from it.

Low unemployment rates play a role in the shortage, as well.

Currently, the county is at 3.3 percent unemployment, which according to Ross has created a very competitive labor market. He said now multiple industries in the area are competing for many of the same prospective employees.

"It's a challenge not only for the transportation and logistics sector to find drivers, right now it's a challenge for all employers to fill positions," he continued.

Why become a truck driver?

If you're hitting rock bottom and you can't pay your mortgage and keep your car payment up, here's a great option that's a quick fix to fix that

Vance Miller, director of transportation, Lancaster County Career and Technology Center

Even for those who do decide to go into trucking, the career choice is not without its obstacles.

Limited experience can make it hard to get a job right out of school. Miller said about 80 percent of trucking companies in the area have insurance that won't allow them to hire someone who just finished their training, and instead require candidates to have six months to three years on the road.

However, he added some insurances do allow companies to hire without any experience because they have extended training.

"How do you get that?" he continued. "How do you get one year of experience if somebody ain't willing to hire you? You've got to sometimes take those unfavorable road jobs to go do it."

Despite this, the shortage comes at a time when the industry is booming with opportunities.

In addition to the hundreds of open positions, many drivers can start out making $40,000 to $50,000 a year after only five weeks of training, Yohn said. Because the labor market is so competitive right now, wages are also rising for new recruits.

Most importantly, all potential truck drivers are promised jobs once they complete their training. Miller said a local trucking company used to come recruit out of his classroom, and would give new employees a starting salary of $70,000 a year.

Zachary Black, a driver at Franklin Logistics and Development, Chambersburg, inspects his truck before hitting the road. There is a nationwide trucker shortage and that could affect the time it takes goods to reach shelves.

Markell DeLoatch, Public Opinion

The federal government is also taking steps to reduce the shortage and encourage more people to go into the field. The Trump administration is supporting a program from the Department of Transportation to allow younger workers to drive big trucks across state lines, according to The Washington Post.

As of right now, all CDL drivers must be at least 21 years old to drive from state-to-state. However, the new pilot program would let some 18-year-old drivers with military experience do this for private trucking companies.

The Post also reported a new bill was introduced to allow certified 18-year-olds to cross state lines in 18-wheelers to transport goods outside the state they are licensed in. The new legislation would require extra supervision and cap speeds at 65 mph for younger trainees.

These moves are good news for several trucking companies in the area, because it would open the doors to recruit high school students.

"A lot of people freshly graduating high school, they go on to other careers and then by the time they're 21, they don't really think about driving a truck," McCourt said. He added the pilot program is a "step in the right direction, for sure."

Ross also feels the program could help reduce the shortage. He discussed how 18-year-olds can deliver a freight from Chambersburg to Erie - which is a six-hour trip - but they cannot deliver anything from Greencastle 15-minutes away to Hagerstown, Md.

When asked whether or not he thought interest in the trucking industry would pick up again, McCourt said it's hard to tell. He mentioned most of the truckers at his company are in their 50s, and he doesn't see a lot of younger applicants.

"It's not really a young man's career," he added.

However, Miller said he does see interest coming back eventually because of the profession's ability to provide quick employment with minimal training. He added truck drivers are able to see the country and use their training in several different areas, including management or owning their own company.

"It's a wonderful industry, it really is," he said. "If people would just take a chance on it, more people would probably enjoy it."

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